Lingering Fear
by Envious Sloth
Summary: After working together for a long time, Adrien starts feeling a little nervous about his position in the Lucky Duo. Unfortunately, that nervousness starts evolving into something worse that begins to eat away at Adrien.
1. Chapter 1

I find myself in a blur of colors and light. The dark ruby sky above is filled with indigo clouds. I felt no wind trying to blow against me, nor could I hear a single sound — the bustling city of Paris was seemingly paused in time. As I try to catch my breath and breathe heavily, I'm crouched down on a bland gray office building, looking at what lies ahead of me. I can feel my limbs being sore as I make any movement.

Before me stands two figures: one an enemy, but the other is a person I've come to know for such a long time – my partner. I see them so close to each other; each of them wrapping their arms around each other with their heads leaning in and giggling away. I feel a heavy lump in my throat as I try to find the right words to say. To see her smiling and blushing like that; to see her showing genuine feelings toward him. Suddenly, I feel this burning feeling in my chest that I can't seem to shake away. I'm trying to move closer to them, but my legs were constrained by an unknown force. The more I struggled to move, the more I felt myself ache. I was fixed in my place.

Soon enough, they make their way closer to me and stand right before me, hand in hand. She walks toward me and crouch down to see me eye-to-eye; her piercing blue eyes captivate me and make my heart hurt all the more. Those eyes always made me feel so vulnerable, as though she saw right through me, knowing all the things that ran through my head and all the feelings I had for her.

Suddenly, she lets out a laugh that I have never heard from her. Venomous. Bitter. It was unlike many of her laughs before – those sweet giggles that were emitted every time I did something silly. I bit down on my lips, in fear of what's coming next.

"Aw, poor kitty," she jeers, "Well, you should've seen this coming, right?" It's getting harder for me to breathe and I hesitate, trying to find the right words to say, but nothing comes out, and I'm left hearing her talk. "After all, what can you do for me anyways?" Her words continue to tear at my heart, as I look down, away from her as she talked. The more she talked, the more I felt my body quiver from fear and sadness. The more she talked, the more it began to break away at me and make me grow so vulnerable. Everything just seems to echo in my mind.

"But…" I managed to stammer out, "I'm your partner, Ladybug! We're supposed to have each other's back, right?" I tried to laugh it out weakly, to make light of the situation, but she's still peering through me with the same eyes – uninterested and uncaring. My lips begin to quiver and I gulp at her unresponsive self. "You and I – we're a perfect team!"

"As if!" She brushes me off easily. "You really are just a poor kitty, aren't you? Just believing everything's all good." She touches my face and rubs her thumb against my cheek. "You're so naive! I actually don't need you; in fact, all you do is weigh me down."

"Ladybug…" My voice begins to fail me, succumbing to my weak state. My whole body seems to be all wracked by not only the physical pain, but the emotional damage that she's taking out on me.

"All you do is get in the way. I've never liked being around you whatsoever. " She stands up and walks back next to him. "I'm glad I found someone better than you. Someone actually helpful. Someone who really does care." Then, I see him wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer. This time when she giggles, it's the sweetest laugh I've ever heard from her – nothing like those laughs she had with me. Never did she laugh like that with me; and it was all the more reasons to make my heart hurt. I never felt this feeling before – where my chest is burning and body feels so weak; where my heart longs and craves but hesitates; where my mind dreams of but cannot make a reality.

As he is whispering words I cannot fathom, she giggles softly – more lovingly – and start to lean in closer to him. Was it that he was more impressive than me? Was it how passionate and straightforward he was when he proclaimed his love for you? Was it how much he showed you that he loved you? My heart feels terror as she turns to me one last time, laying her head against his chest.

"What's the matter, Chat? Afraid of losing something you already lost?" She giggles. I feel tears well up in my eyes.

"Ladybug, I loved –" I tremble, "No, I love you." She scoffs away at my feelings.

"Oh, Chat," She wraps her arms around Evillusionist's neck, "It's a little too late to say that." Slowly, they both lean in toward each other, heads tilted and eyes closing. My breath grows unsteady as I let out a cry.

"Ladybug!"

A sudden rush of air rushes over me, and I find myself in bed, sheets thrown off the bed the moment I jolted up in sitting position. I try to catch my breath as I take in the scenery around me. Beyond my window were the sites of Paris, the city's lights continue to brighten the streets beneath the tall Eiffel Tower. In my room, the power light off the computer screen flickers away like a firefly.

I check my phone to see what time it is: 1 AM. I still need to sleep, but I couldn't shake away that dream. I didn't want to sleep, knowing that there was a possibility of slipping back into that dream… or that reality.

I hear a whistle and suddenly I hear Plagg's voice.

"Yo, Adrien, you okay?" Plagg questions, a odd sense of worry in his voice.

"Uh, yeah, I'm, uh, good." I whisper back, hesitantly.

"Bad dream, I'm guessing?" He sits himself on my shoulder, causing me to slump my shoulders.

"Well, you know, how they go," I shake my head and run my hand through my messy hair, "I just can't stop thinking that maybe…"

"Adrien, you know better," I feel Plagg's hand pat my cheek, "Ladybug needs you as much as you need her. You both are a great team! And Paris wouldn't be safe if it weren't for both of you working together!" He floats in front of me and pats my nose. "You're doing fine as Chat Noir! And Ladybug thinks so, too!" I let out a short chuckle at the thought.

"Thanks, Plagg," I use a finger to pat his head, "You always know what to say."

"'Course!" He playfully replies, "Trust me, you're doing perfectly fine as Chat Noir! Man, the many times you saved Ladybug, too! Don't forget that! She honestly would be grateful having a partner like you!" I smile and laugh bashfully at his comment. Soon, he smiles as well.

"Ah! There's the Adrien I know!" Plagg chirps, "But now that we're all happy and stuff again, I'm getting a _little_ hungry, so you think we can go get some food? Maybe some cheese?"

"In the middle of the night? You have such a weird eating schedule, Plagg," Again, I laugh with a lighter heart. No longer was I trembling or fearful. Now, I was cheerful, ready to try again. Ready to take on another dream, whatever it may be. Ready to show her that I love her – but of course, after I finish serving this cat some stinky cheese first.


	2. Chapter 2

"Today's the day," I smile, looking at my calendar before turning to my laptop. "I'm going to tell him." I turn to the poster of the boy of my dreams — Adrien Agreste. My kwami, Tikki, sits herself upon my shoulder and looks up at me.

"Tell Adrien what?" She tilts her head in curiosity. My face heats up with embarrassment but I giggle and tell her.

"I'm going to tell him that I like him," I dwindle my thumbs before clenching my hands in determination. "I promised myself that I would."

In response, Tikki only gives me a smile and pats my shoulder with her little hand, "I know you can do it."

I nod happily, getting off my pink swivel chair to get my backpack, ready to embrace the day. Nothing's going to stop me from telling him. I just have to!

I race down the stairways and into my family bakery. Already, people are lined up to buy the freshly baked goods Mom and Dad make. As Dad makes his way out of the kitchen with a large tray of cookies, I quickly run over to him and snatch two cookies to eat. I hear him chuckle as I make my way to the door, but Mom calls my name and stops me.

"Marinette!"

"Yeah, Mom?" I grip the doorknob, ready to head out, but Mom gestures me to come closer to her behind the cash register. I sigh and close the door before walking over.

Once I stood in front of her, she hands me a carton of milk. After I take it, she places her soft warm hands on cheeks, "Have a good day, honey." She places a kiss on my forehead and I give her a smile back.

"Love you, Mom! See you later! Bye, Dad!" I wave farewell as I run out the doorway.

"I love you, too, Marinette!" I hear Mom and Dad chirp insync as the door closes behind me.

With such a cheerful morning, I know that today's going to be a good day. I can feel it.

"Adrien, you're going to be late for school," I hear Natalie knock on my door. I grumble and try to get myself to sit up without the covers falling off of me. I yawn and look over to the clock. I better hurry if I want to get out of here. I don't want to wind up making Dad annoyed if I don't go to school.

So, I did my usual routine: got out of bed (which was almost tough to do when the sheets were so warm), got changed, brushed my teeth, and attempted to tame my hair. I went downstairs and grabbed a quick snack to eat for breakfast — an apple and some milk. However, despite me being late, Natalie made me sit down at the table and eat up the large — and I mean, gigantic — breakfast that the cook made me: a large plate of omelette, filled with melted parmesan cheese and bits of ham, a big bowl of soup, another apple, and a large cup of milk. I tried to refuse the breakfast, but well, Natalie wouldn't let me leave the table until I finish it up. Once I did, I was already late for school, so in the end, I guess it didn't matter if I had gotten up earlier or tried to leave earlier for school.

It remained quiet as we drove up to the front of the school, and I hurried over to my class. Hardly anyone walked around the campus anymore, aside from those who probably had an off period that morning or the staff patrolling the campus. It didn't bother me though, I just had to hurry up to get to class — however long I still have left of the first period, anyways.

"Where is he?" I mutter, looking down at the seat in front of me, while I tap my pencil on the desk. I should be listening to the teacher talk about last night's reading, but my mind was so stuck on the missing person in front of me. This is actually the first time I see Adrien absent from class. He's always in class earlier than I am, at least. Maybe he's always late, like me, but he just happens to arrive earlier than me. Or maybe today he's sick! Or maybe he left the school! Or —

"What are you talking about?" Alya whispers over to me.

"About what?" I awkwardly grin. I didn't actually tell Alya what I was hoping to do today.

She looks over to the empty seat where Adrien's supposed to be before looking around the rest of the classroom. "You're talking about Adrien, right? What's up?"

"Oh, uh," I rub my arm and look down, "I was going to tell Adrien today… you know… about…"

"Mari!" Alya pats my shoulder before bringing me closer to her. "Finally, girl! I was almost getting worried about you never going to tell him!"

"I mean, I've tried before."

"And you failed in one way or another! Okay, so tell me how this is going down," Alya bugs.

"I, uh, actually didn't have a plan. I was just going to walk up and tell him, but — "

"But what?" Alya groans.

"He's not here, so…" Another groan from Alya.

"Okay, but don't let your spirits die down! He's probably coming in late or something." Alya grabs my shoulder and assures me, giving her calm, genuine smile. "You got this, alright?"

I nod and try to listen again to the teacher, but the moment I try to pay attention to class again, the sound of the door opening and closing captivated my attention instead. I can feel my heart flutter and my stomach making twists. Was I nervous or excited? I couldn't tell. I feel my cheeks burning as I start smiling, watching the beautiful blonde apologize to the teacher before taking a seat. Alya nudges me with her shoulder. Can't back out of my plan now, but I'm just going to have to wait until lunchtime or after school. Passing periods would be a terrible time — too short.

Just like that, the bell rings, signalling change in class, but it only tells me that I'm going to have to wait longer until I can finally tell him.

Attempt#1: Lunchtime

Lunchtime is about an hour: a perfect time to try to tell Adrien, but then again, where he would be at this time is such a mystery. I only ever see him during class and passing periods; never actually during lunch. I can't believe I don't know where he eats for lunch! I know that he eats with Nino, but _where?_

As I sit on one of the green benches in the center of campus, I pull up my legs and continue eating my sandwich. I look down and think of all the possibilities of where he could be. The campus isn't so big so it should be easy to find Adrien… right?

"So, when are you going to tell him?" Alya nudges at me. I look over to her and sigh.

"Soon, I hope," I mutter, but as I look around, he's nowhere to be seen, "He's not around here. What if he's in the cafeteria? I can't just tell him there! Everyone can hear it, and they might laugh! Or what if he went home early because he felt sick? Maybe that's why he came late? Oh no, what if he has a photoshoot today? Oh no, he probably doesn't have one today —"

"Whoa, slow down!" Alya places her hand on my head. "Look, you'll find the right time to talk to him. We'll just have to find him. C'mon," she takes my hand and gets me off the bench, "We'll go find him and I'll just pull Nino away so you can talk to him, deal?"

"You're the best," I smile appreciatively, as we head off to go to the cafeteria. As we enter the cafeteria, I feel completely overwhelmed by how large the cafeteria is. It probably is as large as the school's court, and had complementary long wooden tables, lined up side by side. The large windows didn't really put myself at ease either, extending from maybe a foot off the ground all the way to the ceiling.

Everything just felt ginormous in that space, and immediately I bite my inner cheeks and attempt to run back the other way; however, Alya looks straight at me, shakes her head, then turns me around and pushes me to find Adrien.

"I think I know where Nino and Adrien usually sit," Alya mutters, as she pushes me through a row of tables.

At this point, my imagination is running all over the place as we continue to walk. This is a terrible idea.

"Alya, I'm gonna back out," I stammer, "I mean, really? He might not even be here, and even so, this is a _bad_ place to tell him! People might hear me and laugh, or what if I confess and then he's so disgusted by my confession that he just runs straight out the window?" She holds up her index finger.

"Come on, Mari," Alya shakes her head, "Adrien's nice! He won't do something as insane as jump out the window!" She giggles. "You can do it! You've been holding these feelings in _way_ too long; you gotta step up your game! Otherwise, Chloe's just take him away, and you _know_ even Adrien doesn't wanna handle _that_." She stops and looks away from me. "Look! There he is!" She points toward Adrien, who is sitting with Nino at the end of one of the long tables. I blush, watching him laugh and smile with Nino. That smile that always makes me so jittery. His blonde hair glimmering under the sunlight coming through the large windows, and those green eyes as beautiful as the rolling hills in springtime.

I stop my thoughts when I realize that Alya and I were standing right in front of Adrien and Nino. I don't know if I could blush any more, but I do feel my face heating up more, and I silently panic.

"Alright, we're gonna head off, okay, Marinette?" Alya grasps my shoulder and gestures to Nino. I look to Nino and he tips his cap toward me and I try to pull a smile and nod, but the smile probably comes off as awkward because Alya grips my shoulder tighter to assure me. Then, I wave to them as they leave.

"So what's up, Marinette?" Oh no, his voice. His sweet as honey voice. Good lord is this getting cliché. I panic and turn back to see Adrien, smiling his golden smile and looking at me with his forest green eyes.

"I, uh… Well, I thought that maybe…" I try to form sentences, but only get a large garble of words. I knew what I was going to say to him — I even practiced confessing, but I somehow couldn't figure what I want to say. My mind became blank. "S-So, I kinda wan-wanted to tell —" I rub my arm and look away, but when I look back at him, he's leaning in, still peering at me with content. I hiccup with shock and cover my mouth. This is going terribly, but he looks at me sincerely and gives me smile. Or wait, what is he thinking? Oh no, he probably thinks I'm a joke!

"S-Sorry!" I flail my arms and quickly run off to the bathroom, leaving a very distraught Adrien at the tables alone. Why did I think this is a good idea?

Once I enter the bathroom, I sit myself on the white tiled floor and cover my face. I hear the door open, and the person who enters is Alya.

"What happened, girl?" Alya kneels next to me and rubs my back.

"I panicked, sorry," I mutter, trying to avoid eye contact. Then, I feel Alya pat my head.

"No, don't worry," Alya softens her tone, "You still have other times to tell him today. Just stay calm, okay? You can do this!" I nod in agreement. I know I can do this; I just need to calm my nerves.

Attempt #2: Passing Period

Maybe passing period would be better! I mean, then I could tell him quickly and then I could just run off to class right after!

Alya isn't with me this time, but she did suggest maybe I should hold onto something to calm my nerves. So, she handed me her water bottle so I could drink some water to stay calm.

Right now, the both of us (Adrien and me) are both at our lockers. His locker is in the same row as me, but it's on the other side of the room and there's other people between both of our lockers. As I close my locker, I keep an eye on Adrien as he slowly puts some of his large textbooks back into the locker. I open Alya's water bottle and take a quick drink before heading to Adrien.

As I walk toward Adrien, gripping Alya's water bottle, I try to call out to him, my mouth agape but no words come out. I stammer his name, when suddenly, someone steps in front of me: Chloe and Sabrina. They stepped out almost too immediately that they bump into me. I forgot to close the water bottle. So as they bumped into me, water sprayed on me and Sabrina. We're both soaked from the squashed plastic water bottle. I look up from my clothes and to Sabrina then to Chloe.

"Wow, Marinette, you should really watch where you're going!" Chloe jeers. I narrow my eyes at her. Of course, she probably planned this out, and of course, she wouldn't be the one to get her clothes wet.

"Sorry, Sabrina," I ignore Chloe. "I'll help you clean up."

"You _really_ should be watching where you're going," she reverberates what Chloe says.

"Nevermind…" I sigh and walk off to the bathroom, taking one last look at Adrien walking off to his next class before going. Maybe my luck _is_ running out today…

Attempt #3: Study Hall

In the quiet library, my entire homeroom class sit, studying and doing homework of the day, but I'm probably one of the few who aren't working. In fact, Alya and I are trying again. She thought that if I can't do it talking, maybe sending him a note will do. So, here we are, sitting in the library, trying to write out a good note and trying to figure out how to send it to Adrien, who is sitting by the window of the library. This time he is alone. Where Nino is, who knows.

"Okay, this time, it should be fool proof," Alya whispers to me. I turn from Adrien to Alya then down to the finished note I wrote. The note is nicely written on a poorly torn notebook page. "But how are we going to get it to him?" She looks up at me. I bite my lip and try to look around for an idea. As I look around, I finally found an idea. At the table next to us sits Juleka and Rose, making origami, or at least, Rose is. It looks like Juleka is trying to make Rose get back to homework. Then an idea clicked. Paper airplanes. I poke at Alya and gesture toward Rose's origami bunny.

"What do you think?" I whisper.

"If you're going to get a bunny to carry it over, you're thinking fairytales, hun."

"No no!" I pout, "I mean, how about a paper airplane?" She looks back from the origami bunny to the note then gives me a big grin.

"You. Are. A. Genius!" She quietly shouts. I smile and nod, immediately folding the note into a paper airplane.

"Wait, do you even have the arm to aim it right?" Alya questions.

"You have no idea," I giggle, trying to aim the airplane toward Adrien. Then, I pull my arm back and let it fly away. I bite my lip as I watch it swerve around at first, almost hitting Kim and then nearly hitting the teacher walking around (that would have been disastrous). Finally, after dodging one last table, it hits the window where Adrien sits, and I let out a big sigh of relief. Alya quietly cheers, giving me a thumbs up and I return it. I smile as I watch Adrien look at the airplane curiously. As I watch him slowly unfold it, I feel my heart racing. This is it. He's going to finally know! I could almost feel like my heart is going to leap out of my chest. I keep an eye on him until he looks up. He finished reading. Oh god. He looks around the room, trying to find me, and I keep up this awkward grin I have on my face, but when he looks at my direction, he continues to turn his head. Wait a second. Why didn't he notice?

"Pssst, what's going on?" Alya nudges at me urgently.

I turn to her, "I don't know! Did he not see me? Maybe he can't see us past the shelf?"

"If we could see him just fine from here, I'm pretty sure he can see you, too." We both think about what just happened. He didn't look straight at me; he was just looking around. He returns to reading the note. Then, it hit me.

"Oh no," I lay my head on the table.

"Did you figure it out?" Alya cocks her head.

"Yea…" That's all I said to her. It takes her a few seconds before she understands why the short answers.

"You forgot to sign it again, didn't you?" She mutters, making me groan in regret.

It's the end of the day, and I almost wish it wouldn't be. It just means I'm back to thinking about last night's dream — a dream I've been trying all day to forget. As I walk down the stairs to the front of the school building, I notice that Natalie hasn't arrived yet to pick me up. So, I decide to sit down on the stairs to wait.

Today was certainly a little weird, wasn't it? I reflect. I wonder what Marinette wanted to talk about. Do I scare her _that_ much? Then the mystery paper airplane. What was all that about? I couldn't figure out who sent it, but it took me by surprise. A confession of a crush. I almost feel jealous that they have that courage to tell me. I only wish that I could tell Ladybug how I feel. It's odd; I know she'll probably understand, but what if that dream becomes real? What if she tells me that I really _am_ useless? A burden? I grip my bag tightly before looking up.

"A-Adrien," I hear a light tone call me from behind. I turn in my seat and see Marinette. I give her a soft smile (hopefully that won't freak her out).

"Hey, Marinette, what's up?"

"Oh, uh," she scratches her cheek and looks away, giving me a shy smile. "Sorry… About running away earlier."

"That's okay." I shake my head and look back at her. Her wide eyes stare at me, her mouth agape. Did I do something wrong again? "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh yeah, um…" She is taken aback from my question. "No, nevermind all that."

"Oh, well," I look out toward the road, "My ride isn't here yet, so do you mind sitting with me?" Maybe she can help me with this problem. I mean, maybe she's knows more about this issue since, well, she's probably more experienced than me, having to deal with homeschool.

"Yeah — I mean, — No! I don't mind!" Marinette corrects herself before taking a seat next to me. She looks up to me, and suddenly her expression changes from a nervous smile to almost a concerned look. She slightly raises an eyebrow, "A-Are you okay?"

"Oh," Was my face showing some worry? "I'm all right, but I just wanted some advice. I know I could ask Nino and all, but well, he seems a little busy with other things."

"Uh-Uhm, sure," Marinette keeps her blue eyes on me. She clenches her hands and rests them on her lap, but I can see her shifting in her seat.

"Thanks," I smile before looking away and staring toward the road. "I just wanted to ask: how do I… How do I share my feelings?"

There's some silence between us before she responds, "W-What?"

I sigh, "I've been worrying about this big issue, and it might affect a relationship. I want to tell the other, but they might react poorly and reject…" I stop myself there before I wind up giving out more information. There's more silence between us.

"O-Oh," I see her pout and look down. She shifts her feet. "I-I'm sort of not the person you should be asking about this. Sorry."

"Oh no, that's okay!" I assure her. "It's my fault for asking the sudden question." Silence again. Do I make her _that_ uncomfortable? I try to apologize, but she speaks up.

"You know, I'm kind of dealing with the same thing," Marinette spoke with a little more confidence, "And Alya was telling me to just say it. Stay calm… and just say what you think." She lowers her tone. "You'll be fine, Adrien, just mean what you say, and the other person will understand."

I nod in response and give her a calm smile. Her suggestion might work and maybe, I'll use it. I pat her back, "Thanks, Marinette. I hope it'll work out."

Silence again, but quickly, she breaks the silence, "Adrien?"

Baffled and curious, I reply, "Yeah?"

"About earlier…" She rubs her arm and looks at me with her nice, blue eyes. There's something about them that seems vaguely familiar. "I wanted to tell you —"

Suddenly, she stops in the middle of her sentence. I raise a brow as she turns her attention elsewhere toward the street. I check and see that the limo finally arrived, but I didn't want to be rude and leave straight away. I hold both of her hands and look confidently into her eyes.

"It's okay. They can wait," I assure her, but she lets go of my hand and waves me off.

"I-It's fine. Really," Marinette rubs the back of her neck, "I'll just tell you tomorrow."

I give her sheepish grin in apology, but nod, "Alright then. I'll count you to that." Then we wave farewell to each other as I head to the limo and drive back home.

Well, that went terribly. For the fourth time — and I was so close with the last one! Another sigh leaves my lips as I land on another building. I've been patrolling the city for any akuma, but nothing in the city seems to be out of place. The night is drawing near so that means that my patrolling duties are almost at its end; but even so, I haven't seen Chat Noir today. Usually when we patrol, we may bump into each other once in awhile, but today, we never met. I'm sure he'll be fine, though. He usually _is_ all right. He's probably just flirting with some girls again and got distracted by who-knows-what.

My worries almost shift immediately to after school with Adrien again. I guess that means I have no chance if he's got a relationship issue… er, maybe he's talking about family or friend issues. Maybe that's why he couldn't tell Nino. Either way, I guess now's not a good time to tell him my own confession. I'm almost glad then that I didn't tell him. I think that might just trouble him even more, but he also said he's counting on me to say what's up tomorrow.

"Agh, what a mess!" I whine to myself, but almost immediately I hear someone approach.

"Need help cleaning, then?" Finally, Chat arrives and I can only groan to his comment.

"Very funny, Chat," I roll my eyes.

"Miss me, Ladybug?" He purrs and I giggle at his usual demeanor.

" _Sure_ , Chat," I tease, "But we should get back to patrolling. It's getting late so we should finish looking around and start heading home."  
"Fine fine, my lady," He puts both arms up like he's giving in, before dropping them back to his side, "But I wanted to talk to you."

This is certainly an odd thing, but it certainly peaks my interest. I turn to him before I tried swinging off to the next building, "What's wrong?"

He looks down to his feet and rubs his arm, "Urgh, well…" He rubs the back of his neck. Why's he so nervous? He almost reminds me of me. I keep my patience and listen, taking a slight step forward toward him. "Well, it's just been bugging me… You know you're amazing, right?" I give him a lopsided smile and continue listening. "I just think that maybe you're too amazing that… it outshines me."

My smile slowly fades, "What do you mean, Chat?" Chat's eyes remain looking at the ground, and the goofy grin I've come to know has dissipated. It was like looking at a different person. Someone less confident. Afraid. Like me, but at least, he can confess.

"I mean that I don't think I'm really … needed." Chat looks up at me and takes my hand into his, "Ladybug, you're just so strong and so wonderful and amazing, and I know you can probably take on all of these akuma on your own! That's why I just feel… afraid. That maybe our duo is faltering…"

There's no jokes in what he says. It's absolutely genuine what he says, and it makes me hurt inside. I feel myself tearing up. My partner doesn't feel like he's needed when that's absolutely not true.

I let go of his hands and wrap my arms around him, running my hand through his hair, feeling the warmth between him and me.

"Oh Chat," I try to hold back the tears, "That's not true… I need you. And really, only you! We were chosen as Ladybug and Chat Noir _because_ we need each other. We work well together and we can't be without each other! I need you and you need me. That's why we're a team." I let go of him and grip his shoulder to assure him, but when I look at him, he just seems so confused or dumbstruck, but he eventually gives way for a smile and brings me in for another hug. He holds me tightly, and I do the same for him.

"Th-thanks, Ladybug," I hear him whisper, only making me smile. I'm glad that he told me this. It's rare that we actually tell each other what's our current issues. We usually are so busy with fighting villains that we almost forget that there's more to each other than fighting bad guys everyday.

I should really learn from Chat Noir: mean what I say and just let whatever's on my mind out.

Wait a second. That's the same advice I gave to Adrien earlier. Hold on, could it be that maybe — ?

"Alright, let's finish patrolling, my lady," Chat Noir lets go of me and bows before me.

"Sure thing! Let's go, partner," I nudge at him before throwing my yo-yo and swinging away from the building. Whoever Chat Noir may be, I just hope he's just happy now. I'm just glad he's okay now.


End file.
